I would like to know, if possible, at least the approximate age of Isaac when Abraham offered him as a sacrifice to God. Based on Abraham's advanced age, it would seem that Isaac did not resist in being bound to the wood. Also, it seems that he was no toddler since he helped carry the wood that he was to be bound to. Has a reasonable estimate of Isaac's age ever been ascertained at the time of his sacrificial offering to God? Thank you.

The Christadelphians teach that the devil/Satan is not a personal being but an analogy for describing sin. What is their Biblical defense for such a theology?

I'm not looking for Biblical support of the doctrine, but for a post-Biblical teaching that clearly articulated a pre-tribulation rapture, as opposed to a post-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture, or clear documentation that an early Christian group specifically held pre-tribulation views.

I often hear many people (of more traditionalist bent, but also more moderates) state that Vatican II is pastoral, not ecumenical. What does it mean for a council to be pastoral, and what does it mean for a council to be ecumenical?

If I'm a Protestant, and ask a Catholic priest to come bless my home, does the Catholic Church allow him to?

Is there an expedient way to find out if a given some particular biblical verse, it has been invoked in either a papal encyclical or a document of an ecumenical council without having to retrieve that document and read through it? For example, if I wanted to know if 2 Pet. 3:16 has been quoted such, is there some papal data center that I may access in order to see where may have been quoted? If not, is there some way to do the same for the more general book and chapter; say, 2 Pet. 3 in this case. Thank you.

Part of Christianity seems to be one's perpetual increase of love for other people. Jesus loved so perfectly that he was able to perform astonishing miracles, even by today's standards with all our technological advancements, and give us an example of what it looks like to do God's will. Now that many billions are following his example, I'd like to think that we have gotten increasingly better at loving one another in the last 2000 years. So, is there anything commonplace we do today that would have been seen as miraculous or rare in ancient times?

Everything I know about Christianity and Jesus is based on the "original" word of God. But I am having trouble understanding what is meant by "original". For example, Paul's source for his scripture is divine revelation only. So God's supernatural word was transmitted to Paul's brain and stored as a memory. Are those memories in Paul's brain the "original" word of God? Unfortunately the human brain can forget things, so perhaps it would be better to call the first words that Paul wrote down the "original" word of God. However it bothers me to move further from the source of the "original" word because Paul may not have transcribed it accurately. As a different example, Luke uses for his gospel Mark and the writings of Flavius Josephus as sources, and possibly another unknown source Q. Suppose that tomorrow we find the Q source, and it just so happens to be everything in Luke that is not contained in Mark or the writings of Flavius Josephus. In this case Luke is simply an anthology, so what would we say the "original" word of God is with respect to Luke?

Every concept and Truth is from the creative mind of God. This includes what defines a father and a son. By observation, we can know how God defines a father within His design. Some examples of these Truths observable in His own design: - **Every father to ever exist has preceded the begetting of his child.** - **Every son to ever exist must be begotten at a moment in time.** - **A son inherits qualities and responsibilities from his father at a *specific moment in time.*** It appears the triune theory removes all aspects of what is defined as sonship and fatherhood. It also appears that the triune theory adds unique qualities/characteristics to the father/son relationship that are seemingly irrational. No instances of these qualities can be found anywhere in the design of Creation which is all from the imaginative mind of God. Some examples: - **A son never references his father and himself together by using a singular personal pronoun: I, Me, He, Him, Himself. *(Mark 12:26-27, Matt 19:4, Job 38:1, Isaiah 44:24)* Rather the plural pronouns "we" and "us" are exclusively used.** - **A third party never references both a father and his son as 1 non-personified being while also using singular personified pronouns: He, Him, His, Himself. *(Exodus 3:6, Gen 5:27, Isaiah 40:22, Isaiah 42:5, Deut 32:6 )* Rather, "they", "them", "theirs" are used.** - **A son cannot beget himself or be begotten by a non personified essence/nature which is a necessary Trinitarian interpretation of the following verse:** *Psalm 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: YHWH hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I **begotten** thee* **Question(s)** - Please answer all to be considered for the bounty. According to Trinitarians: 1. **In what way(s) is God the Father a father to God the Son?** 2. **In what way(s) is God the Son a son of God the Father?** 3. **If your answer is simply *"the risen Jesus is subordinate to his Father and of the same nature"*, please explain how this makes him more of a son than the angels.** 4. **Of the relational aspects in your answer, which of these overlap with the concept of fatherhood and sonship within the design of nature and more specifically mankind?** 1 John >22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

Over the years I have often heard sermons in which it is claimed that Jesus taught more about hell than heaven. I have always believed it because I never had the inclination to check up on those making that claim, I just assumed it was true, because why would someone make such a claim if it weren't true? However, I have found an article entitled "[Did Jesus speak more about Hell than about Heaven?](https://www.patheos.com/blogs/unfundamentalistchristians/2015/01/did-jesus-speak-more-about-hell-than-about-heaven/) " where that claim is challenged and in what I have seen so far it may very well not be true. I wonder if there is anyone else on this group that has already done a study on the veracity of this claim. Here is a [list of the actual verses](http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/unfundamentalistchristians/files/2015/01/jesus-heaven-hell.pdf ) used by the author.

We read in 1 Samuel 31 how Saul, his sons and generals killed themselves rather than surrender to Philistines. The valiant men of Israel retrieved their dead bodies ,burned them and buried the bones under a tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Elsewhere, we see prominent men of Israel getting buried on their death. It is not clear why Israelites chose to cremate the dead body of Saul. What explanation do scholars offer for the same ? Inputs from any denomination are welcome.

Who consecrated Heahmund as the Bishop of Sherborne , What was his Apostolic Lineage?

I have started to read "Introduction to the Bible" by Fr. John Laux, M.A.. The following is extracted from pg. 20: > The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884) says in its Pastoral Letter: "It can hardly be necessary to remind you, beloved brethren, that the most highly valued treasury of every family library, and the most frequently and lovingly made use of , should be the Holy Scriptures." > 3. We are not, however, allowed to read any and every translation of the Bible , but only such as has been approved by ecclesiastical authority.... Undoubtedly, among other things perhaps, the said "approval by ecclesiastical authority" requires a valid *Imprimatur*. Does anyone know which Pope decreed such and which encyclical (or some other document) may the described prohibition be contained in?

Because the Bible teaches that God made men directly in His image but women indirectly (1 Timothy 2:13) and that God transcends all moral judgment (Romans 9:20), what does this imply about the ability of men to receive forgiveness, as compared to women? I weigh answers from the Church Fathers the highest, preferably Latin and Greek fathers during the first millennia.

I've heard the claim, mainly from Fundamentalists but also from some Lutherans, that the Pope is an antichrist. Are there any Protestant denominations that specifically teach this, whether it be in their sermons or in their church documents?

Many years ago, I heard someone say that the KJV came about because King James I wanted a version of the Bible that supported him getting a divorce. Nowadays, I can't help but wonder how true this is. Thus, I'm asking for the historical reasons the KJV came about.

I have been reading *The Catholic Controversy* by St. Francis de Sales ([pdf here](https://ia600302.us.archive.org/22/items/catholiccontrove00sain/catholiccontrove00sain.pdf)) . On [page 109](https://archive.org/details/catholiccontrove00sain/page/108/mode/2up) one finds: >In Exodus, at Geneva and elsewhere among these reformers, they have cut out the twenty-second verse of the second chapter, which is of such weight that neither the Seventy nor the other translators would ever have written it if it had not been in the original. Exodus 2:22, [Douay-Rheims translation](https://www.drbo.org/cgi-bin/d?b=drb&bk=2&ch=2&l=22-#x) , says: > And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I have been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another, whom he called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my helper hath delivered me out of the hand of Pharao **What did (John Calvin, William Farel, Theodore Beza, and\or John Knox) have against the verse given in Exod 2:22?** (Could today's Exod. 2:22 have been numbered differently 500 years ago?) I have checked the 1635 printing of the *1610 A.D. Douay Old Testament* ([p. 145](https://archive.org/details/1610A.d.DouayOldTestament1582A.d.RheimsNewTestament_176/page/n161/mode/2up) , [pdf here](https://ia601502.us.archive.org/1/items/1610A.d.DouayOldTestament1582A.d.RheimsNewTestament_176/Douay-Rheims-1610-Bible.pdf)) and it seems to say pretty much the same thing as the above.

There are religious orders in the Catholic faith (though they may exist elsewhere) such as the Dominicans, the Franciscans, and the Benedictines. What lead to the founding of groups like these? What is the history of them within the Church and what role have they played throughout Church history? ----- Related: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/82935/was-the-first-christian-community-a-model-for-religious-orders

We see in Luke 24 how the angels at the empty tomb of Jesus post-Resurrection, put a point blank question to the confused women disciples: > Why are you searching for the living among the dead? Going to Acts 1, we see the angels posing another question to the disciples post-Ascension: > Galileans, Why are you looking up at the sky? ... (The salutation itself lacked warmth , because Galilee was not a place regarded with esteem by the Jews . See Acts 2:7) Juxtapose those remarks with the charitable approach that Jesus adopts while dealing with 'doubting Thomas'. One is inclined to conclude that the angels were a bit too harsh with the disciples post-Resurrection and post-Ascension. But, what has been the view taken on the subject by the scholars? Inputs from any denomination are welcome.

What is the difference between a **“promise”** and a **“vow”** of celibacy? Do secular priests take the vow or promise of celibacy? Do monks take the vow or promise of celibacy?